Nominee
Pozzotive® Ground Glass Pozzolan
Category
Innovative Product or Service
Description
The Connecticut Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) nominates Pozzotive®, a ground glass pozzolan (GGP) manufactured by Urban Mining Industries (UMI), for the contribution it makes to our industry from both an environmental and performance perspective. O&G Industries, a CRMCA & NRMCA member, has also been actively involved in the manufacturing and use of this important new pozzolan. UMI, in a joint venture with an O&G affiliate, opened the full-scale plant in 2021 and has the capability of producing 50,000 tons of Pozzotive per year. Key attributes of the product:
• With a carbon footprint about 5% of that of cement, Pozzotive reduces the CO2 of the cement it replaces in a concrete mix on an almost ton-for-ton basis. Mix designs replacing up to 50% of cement with Pozzotive are in use today and are reducing the overall carbon footprint of a yard of concrete by over 40%
• Pozzotive provides a large-scale solution to the unwanted waste glass in our country. About 2/3 of +/- 12 million tons of consumer glass we generate each year currently goes to landfill. Unlike bottle-to-bottle recycling, Pozzotive can use any color and any size glass in its process
• Pozzotive creates a better performing concrete. See supporting data in the Evidence Section of this application
• Independent testing has shown that Pozzotive-based mixes are 5X more impactful in resisting chloride penetration than a straight cement mix design, offering greater resistance than both slag and fly ash
• As a bright pozzolan, Pozzotive can be used in gray or white cement to help reduce “heat island” effect in our urban areas. Lighter concrete structures also help minimize energy and lighting costs in our built environment
• Of equal importance, these environmental and performance benefits are being achieved with a safe material (no crystalline silica) and at no additional cost to the ready-mix industry
• The material ships, stores, & batches similarly to other SCMs- no plant modifications are needed to batch material
• Pozzotive GGP is set it apart from all other SCMs for its local circularity. The raw material for the Beacon Falls plant comes from Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in Connecticut and New York
• The manufacturing process is now commercially viable with efforts to expand the product’s availability and use nationally.
• Much needed alternative to the diminishing supply of supplemental cementitious materials (SCMs) to produce low-carbon, high-performance concrete
Evidence
Pozzotive® is an effective, sustainable pozzolan that significantly reduces embodied carbon in concrete while improving the concrete’s strength and durability. Pozzotive® provides an optimal upcycling opportunity for the glass recycling industry. It is made of post-consumer glass recovered from single steam recycling facilities and has an exceptionally low global warming potential. All of this is achieved at no additional product cost to the concrete producer.
- A 50% replacement of cement in a 9,000-psi concrete mix design yields a 42% reduction in the concrete carbon footprint. SEE TABLE IN IMAGES
- At 50% replacement, the concrete achieved strength of 9,623 psi at 28 days and 12,852 at 56 days. At 90 days, Pozzotive® mixes outperformed all other conventional pozzolan mixes.
- Concrete with Pozzotive® is more resistant to chlorides than mixes with cement only, fly ash or slag. This is important for concrete infrastructure near waterways or where de-icing salts are used. TABLE IN IMAGES
- After 1,000 freeze-thaw cycles, concrete made with 20-40% Pozzotive lost less than 1% mass loss with no cracks or scaling.
- Concrete mixes with Pozzotive® significantly reduced free shrinkage vs. mixes with cement, fly ash and slag.
- The lighter concrete color, made possible by replacing cement with Pozzotive, significantly reduces the heat island effect. Creating cool surfaces reduces cooling and lighting needs.
- Pozzotive® is manufactured in a first of its kind, full-scale facility in Beacon Falls, CT. Climate Earth prepared a pre-production LCA screening based on the rated energy consumption of all equipment used in creating many EPDs for concrete mixes. Climate Earth is working on a publishable EPD based on actual energy and material consumption.
- Since ground glass is classified as an inert substance by the US EPA, Pozzotive has a published Health Product Declaration.
Pozzotive® has gained wide acceptance and been recognized with awards from the building industry & environmental organizations
- United States EPA honored Pozzotive® with their Environmental Quality Award in Region 2, the highest award given to the public by the USEPA.
- US Green Building Council selects new building products that significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and improve product life cycles. Pozzotive® has now won their BuildingGreen award twice
- Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) 2020 Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award
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